Autumn

There are colours to wear and colours for the home and colours to just admire. I don’t wear yellow and I don’t decorate my home with yellow, but I love yellow in nature, especially all the autumn shades.

I played around with lines and brushes, brush strokes, splotches and of course colour.

The reds in nature are now at their peak and are quickly fading away as the leaves start to fall. As much as the reds and nature are/were inspiring, I couldn’t succeed in really “getting into it”. the reds tricked me, my sketching was off and my wist was stiff as Sylvester Stallone’s biceps….fit for many other things, but not for drawing. It is nonetheless part of my series for November colours..so here are they…the reds of November.

The palette for a mix of all the reds:

Golden pink

Potter’s pink

Cadmuim red

Rose madder

Venetian red

Burnt sienna

Alizaron crimson

Ultramarine violet

* On Myfrenchkitchen, I have posted a recipe and photos..all in the spirit of November reds..

Autumn is the time I take long walks in the forest/woods and gather mushrooms, and chestnuts, walnut, leaves and everything else that take my fancy. Back in the atelier it gets spread out on every available surface, pinned up on a board, hung on a chandelier, stuck in a vase….and painted or sketched or drawn. However much I love being outside, being in front of the drawing table in the atelier, gives me just as much pleasure.

I have been struggling with a fatigue for a few days…it may well be the change of seasons? Just the thought of going out sketching already tires me..so I have been mostly in front of my table, fiddling with small sketches, moistly fruits and veggies, which is usually a good idea when all else fails.

I’ve noticed that I have actually never done red peppers..which is surprising. Et voilà..some red peppers for today.

I adore the colours of hydrangeas in the fall. They lose that bright summer blues and pinks and become faded. Even the whites turn a faded green. Some dried brown petals turn the blooms into pieces of art in shades of all colours.

I did the the first sketch too stiff and controlled into a round ball, even though I am not too unhappy with the colours.

So I decided to do another sketch, this time much looser, maybe not immediately recognizable as an hydrangea, but I have never cared about likeness. Loose, fluid painting with personal interpretation is much more important to me.

This is my favorite time of sketching.. I love all the ochres and umbers. And on days when the weather is a bit chilly or wet, it is nice to bring in leaves and branches and whatever else I found on walk and fiddle in the studio. I don’t work in my atelier enough and I actually love my atelier! My table is in front of the fireplace, my coffee machine just a further to the left..in fact, the whole barn is my atelier and I am in it for another winter.

..fall leaves..

Both sketches done in pen and aquarelle in Hahnemule watercolor sketchbook, 19X20cm

My two geese Aglaé et Sidonie, provide me with hours of fun and pleasure..watching them is better than owning a home cinema! I sketched them this weekend, the first time since I got them earlier this year. I thought it was going to be easy..sketching them. I know them by heart, seeing them every day and watching them, feeding the, following them, being followed by them. When I close my eyes, I can so clearly see them and I can so easily tell them apart. But sitting with the pen in my hand, brought forward all kinds of problems. Even when after changing to a pencil, I couldn’t escape the problems.

..Two adorable geese, Aglaé et Sidonie..

(watercolour and pen in Hahnemuhle watercolor sketchbook, 19x20cm)

I jumped in and tried to capture them while they floated in their fountain(actually MY fountain they took over!). That’s when I realized how little I understood of their morphology! I had trouble sketching their wings and the build of their lower bodies, the length of their necks in relation to their bodies, their typical thoraxes…they are so different from ducks and mine looked like some mongrels of geesed ducks.. so much for thinking I know my geese! So it was back to doing some real studying.

..Two geese in (my) fountain..

(watercolour and pen in Hahnemuhle watercolor sketchbook, 26x18cm)

From a distance, it was fairly easy getting hold of just the shapes and suggesting their actions. They are ideal for studying, because they move slowly(and funny) and rhythmic, with an elegance that originate in their long necks and sideways glances.

..two geese from a distance..

(watercolour and pen in Hahnemuhle watercolor sketchbook, 26x18cm)

Their backsides are quite interesting with their wings crossing one over the other and lying on top of a cute, quirky fantail.

..Two geese’s cute swaying backsides..

(watercolour and pen in Hahnemuhle watercolor sketchbook, 19x20cm)

They have such beautiful character, aren’t mean at all. It seems they love company, so they love lying by my feet or anywhere close by our activities, and they love being by the horses. Only with the chickens do they have a love/hate relationship.

..Two geese watching me as intensely as I did them..

(watercolour and pen in Hahnemuhle watercolor sketchbook, 19x20cm)

The top sketches are the best of all those I did the weekend, trying to understand these two ladies. When I close my eyes now, I actually see them much better! so doing all of this work was really wroth it. Capturing animals is not only about the perfect technique, but also about their character, which to me is more important than the perfect rendition of their morphology. I a feel quite chuffed with the expression in Aglaé in the above sketch..the typical tilt of her head and watchful sideways glance she throws me. Man, I just adore these mesdemoiselles!

This is my daughters’ recipe which they were so kind to give me. I adapted it a little to serve it as a side rather than an amuse bouche, which is how they serve it. In the suggestions, I will give their recipe. I love this, it is a vegetable and can serve as a […]

The big problem with draft horses roaming free in the pastures is that they get very dirty in winter. and of course they hate being closed up. Living on hills don’t make it any easier. So we keep them in a smaller camp, both for their own sake and for the fields’ sake. But with […]